Music to Deaf Ears
by annonymouslyblonde
Summary: After the 7 book, but doesn't have the same pairings. Harry becomes deaf after a dual with a Death Eater so he and his wife, Hermione, have to learn how to cope with it. R&R is welcome!


AN: This would take place after the war with two changes: the pairings (which will be H/HR and R/L) and the fact that Harry losses his hearing during the final battle due to a dark curse. Harry and Hermione are married already in this fanfic.

I know, I was supposed to be working on the new version of The Truth Shall Set You Free To Love, but I got a bit distracted and it is only a one-shot after all!

I don't own a thing; it's all J K Rowling's stuff.

Hermione's POV:

The past few year had been a struggle, but Harry and I were make the best of a bad situation. Unfortunately, my sweet Harry had lost his hearing courteous of one of Voldemort's followers during the finally moments of the ambush at Hogwarts.

It was hard for Harry to comprehend that there was no cure for this due to the involvement of dark magic, but after almost a year, he started to accept it. We learned sign language together and he even took a few courses on reading lips. Even though he was quite apt at reading lips, he preferred when I translated for him so of course I always did. The only time he read lips was when it was only Ron or me with him.

My thoughts are interrupted by Harry knocking on the door and asking, "You ready, Luv?"

"Yes," I replied, making sure I mouthed the word clear enough were my husband could read it.

Grabbing my hand, he pulled me into his arms. "You look beautiful." I blushed and snuggled deeper into his embrace. "Ready to go then?" When I nodded into his chest, he pulled back and grabbed my hand before apparating to the restaurant. Taking my hand, he led me into the building and gave the host his name.

Seated in a low lit section, Harry and I talk, well signed mind you, about how are day had been. He worked in the wizarding courts. Ever since the incident, he wouldn't be able to work as an Auror, but he always says that putting them away in "their rightful place" was the next best thing.

It wasn't long before a man in his mid-forties came to our table and spoke to Harry. "Mr. Potter, pleasure to meet you! I simply wanted to come and tell you how grateful I, and when I say I, I am sure I could speak for the entire wizarding population, am to you for defeating, well You-Know-Who."

Unsure if Harry had been able to keep up with the man's rapid speech, I quickly interrupted what he had said. Gracious as he always is, my husband shook the man's hand and said, "I couldn't have done it alone." The man smiled politely before turning to me and asked what I had just done.

"Harry's deaf now," I explained both with words and with sign so Harry would have no problem knowing what was going on. "I was simply translating what you said to him."

"Deaf?" The man sounded shocked, like he couldn't believe the Boy-Who-Lived could possibly be deaf. "I never heard of any such!"

Harry, who had been quietly watching, intervened. "It isn't exactly public that I became deaf during the war. We've adapted fine so there's no point in making sure the whole world knows. If you don't mind though, I'd like to have a nice, quiet dinner with my wife."

Without another word, the man left and we were left to go back to our dinner. After a while though, Harry grasped my hand and whispered to me, "Don't worry about him. He's just another daft person that doesn't understand."

"I know."Looking directly at him, I made myself sure that he could easily read my lips. "It just bothers me when people react like that. It's like they don't think you could possible function or be the same person that defeated Voldemort or something."

Bringing my hand to his lips, he placed a few gentle kisses along my knuckles before setting our hands back on the table. "The important thing is that you know better than that. I don't care what the rest of them have to say about this."  
>"I love you, Harry."<br>I couldn't help the smile that captured me once I saw how bright his eyes and smile had become. His smile has been rather infectious.

Several months had passed since that dinner and from that time on, I had searched and experimented with techniques to possibly allow my love to be able to hear once again. When I found out I was pregnant, I was even more determined. Finally, all my hard work started to show some promise to help.  
>"So let me get this straight," Ron asked as we talked over lunch. I wanted to fill him in on what I had been doing before telling Harry. "You may have possibly created a way that would reverse what happened to Harry then? Why haven't you bloody told him then!"<br>"Ronald," I hissed. "Keep your voice down!" Sighing, I ran a hand over my face before looking back at my redheaded best friend. I had thought this over many times before, but now with the task at hand, I struggled to voice any of them. "I just-I guess I haven't told him because I'm afraid it won't work. I refuse to get his hopes up when I don't know. What I mean is, I've only tried it on a few small objects, nothing alive!"  
>"How small are we talking about, Hermione?"<br>Closing my eyes, I told him, "I've returned the Burrow to its proper state." I heard him gasp then drop his fork. This would be a shock, but I didn't realize it was enough to make him actually stop eating.  
>"You-You fixed it?" Unable to speak, I simply nodded. "Do you think you could try it on George to regrow his ear then?" His voice was so hopeful and happy.<br>Finally, I looked at him again and all the happiness I heard in his voice shone ten times more on him face. "I don't know. I've never tried it on someone before. I've never even tried to do it on something living. It could be completely different on a living thing than it was on the Burrow."  
>He nodded before silently returning to his lunch. At first, I thought he was going to drop it, but as I watched him, I saw that he was processing everything. Right as I was about to ask him if he wanted to leave her blurted out, "Teach me."<br>Nodding, I pulled out my wand and extracted the memory of how to perform the wand work. The silvery thread-like material settled in the bottom of a vile I stopped and handed to Ron. "This should tell you how it works and what to do. Be careful though, Ron. I'm not sure what this all could do." With a quick nod, he stood up from the table and bid me farewell before leaving.

A few weeks later, I was sitting on the couch in our living room waiting for Harry to come home from work. A soft pop come from the hallway then Harry came in to the room and joined me on the couch.  
>"Hi," he said brightly just before pecking my lips. "How was your day, darling?"<br>Excitedly, I started to speak and sign about how great my research at the hospital was going, but he grabbed my hands and held them tightly causing me to stop. When I gave him a questioningly pointed look, he merely shrugged and said, "You don't need to do that."  
>"Oh, well I know you said that before, but I just like knowing that you have no trouble misunderstanding me." But obviously, I was the one that was misunderstanding judging by the way he was chuckling.<br>"No, what I mean is you won't have to do that ever again. I can hear you know. You're spells work, Mione. Ron showed me your memory and we tried them out. I can hear you again." My eyes widened with shock before filling with tears of joy. My darling Harry could hear me again. He would be able to our little boy as soon as he came. So filled with happiness, I threw my arms around him and held him as tightly as I could. I could feel him shaking in my arms. He was crying like I was.  
>"I love you, Harry James Potter," I whispered in his ear, glad that he would finally be able to hear me say that.<br>Even though he told me he could hear again, I couldn't help the gasp that escaped when he whispered back, "I love you too, Hermione Jean Potter, and your voice, dear, is like music to my no longer deaf ears."

His chuckle filled my ears, and my laughter mingled along with it.

AN: Well that's it! R&R is very much appreciated! Now on to (hopefully) the new version of TTSSYFTL! No more distractions now! –Lots of Love AiT


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